Extended Episode for Switched
by Scioneeris
Summary: The Puppet King makes his debut leading to Starfire and Raven trading bodies and Robin trading his consciousness between them-wait, WHAT! Will be RobinxRaven.
1. Chapter 1 : Morning After

**A/N: I didn't think I'd have the first chapter of this up so fast, but I guess I'm on a roll today. LOL. Hardly writing anything through this week has left a lot of words waiting to be written out. Anyway, this is the extended episode version of "Switched" the episode in which Raven and Starfire switch bodies and have to deal with each other's powers and personal issues. It will have a RobinxRaven slant. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: And so another story begins: **

**Cyborg: Aw, man, c'mon, do we gotta do this everytime? **

**Me: Do what every time?**

**Cyborg: *gesturing* This.**

**Me: Usually not.**

**Cyborg: So...**

**Me: What?**

**Cyborg: Just say the disclaimer.**

**Me: Why? **

**Cyborg: This is why Robin quit. **

**Me: *raspberry* I don't own any Teen Titans anything. **

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><p>In a room somewhere amidst the rundown downtown life, in the darkness of an abandoned factor, a small figure was illuminated. On a brightly lit, garish cartoon stage, a wooden Robin marionette dropped into view, dangling from threads before the backdrop of a painted Titans tower.<p>

The small figure waggled a hand and the Robin puppet danced merrily in the miniature stage. "Titans, go!" A squeaky, grating voice mimicked the Titan leader's classic phrase. Puppet Robin leapt spectacularly across the stage and then turned to look back from where it had been moments before.

It was alone.

"Hey!" The Puppet Robin squeaked. "What's going on? Titans?"

At the far end of the stage, four other deformed puppets began to slink out from the shadows.

"What's wrong? Aren't you guys coming?" Puppet Robin pleaded.

Puppet Raven shrugged and wobbled on her strings. "Oh no, fearless Robin, for what is the point? We can't possibly defeat the Puppet King."

"Yes, dear Robin." The Puppet Starfire cooed. "For e is too clever and much too powerful, not to mention so very goody-looking."

Puppet Cyborg danced onto the stage beside the two puppet girls. "Yeah." The squeaky voice tried to deepen itself in likeness to the original titan's tone. "We should probably just surrender now, Robin."

Puppet Beast Boy flailed wildly about the stage and then flopped over. "Dudes, I think we already have." Puppet Beast Boy gestured upward and all of the puppets threw up their arms and fell flat on the stage floor.

Hovering above the makeshift toy stage, with barely a sliver of light to show his face, the small figure was visible as a squat specimen in a red military dress uniform and sash. The head was shadowed, hiding most of the face, but glowing eyes and a small crown were details that stood out in the shadowy interior.

"Bravo, bravo my little darlings." The puppetmaster cheered. "But enough rehearsal." He threw down the crosspieces, the puppets below pitching away to fall of the makeshift stage. "It's time to start the show." The five marionettes tumbled off the stage in a jumble of strung arms and legs.

The eerie silence provided a fading background.

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><p>Raven woke to a feeling of delicious refreshment. It took her a moment of lying still and silent to understand why and for what reason. She almost smiled, but that particular notion was squashed when she realized that being awake, meant getting up and out of her comfortable, round bed.<p>

With a moan, she buried her face in a nearby pillow and practiced breathing in and out until her mind cleared into a less scrambled jumble. That was better. That was much better. She rolled over to face the ceiling again, this time, with a clearer mind.

The events of the day before had come rushing back and she hadn't wanted to deal with it yet. It meant a morning of strict meditation. Her head was still a mess from having unwanted guests gallivanting around within. In fact, it had taken more than a few stern conversations with her various selves to keep her personality confined to the usual constraints.

The little relief she'd felt at the fact that Cyborg and Beast Boy hadn't learned too much of her private affairs was a small consolation for the price she was paying to keep the rest of her emotions in check. It was best to keep it the way it was.

Best to pretend that there was nothing happening. That she was growing the slightest bit closer to any one of them. Especially not to the dark-haired, spiky-headed, masked one of them—!

Raven squeezed her eyes shut and her pillows shot up into the air, enveloped in black-white energy, before they streaked across the room and slammed into the bedroom door. She sighed. This was going to be a long and lousy day, unless she could somehow manage to spend the entire twenty-four hours in non-stop meditation.

That thought brought a hint of brightness to her dreary start and Raven slid out from the tangle of navy-blue sheets and towards the private bathroom in the corner. With a wave of her hand, the black-white energy replaced the pillows in their respective places and the bed made itself up in her absence.

_Shower. _Raven thought, idly_. A shower should do the trick…_

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><p>It did help some, but not as much as she'd wanted. Raven pushed the thought away and continued to maintain the even keel of her inner energies, timed to the rhythm of her breathing. It was working better than the shower had. In the backdrop of black, sprinkled with shimmering stars, there was nothing but silence and a blissful expanse of nothingness.<p>

It was more soothing than she'd ever admit.

Eyes closed, face blank, Raven continued the chant that meant so much, maintaining her position in mid-hover. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."

Somewhere in the distant nothingness, a faint voice whispered. "Raven?" The calm was beginning to crack at the edges, crumbling into itself as the voice repeated the insistent word, drawing closer and louder. "Friend Raven?"

It faded away as Raven felt her forehead twitch in annoyance. It had all disappeared completely and now that her peacefulness had been shredded into nothingness, she finds the earlier irritation coming back in full force with Starfire's repeated insistence.

"Raven? Please forgive my interruption, but have you seen Robin?"

Raven was jerked back to the present where she was—in the observation deck of the Titan's Tower. "No."

"Oh." Starfire's face fell. She turned to leave, but stopped. "Then perhaps you have seen Cyborg?"

"No."

Starfire turned again and paused in mid-step for the second time. "Then perhaps you've seen Beast Boy?"

The last vestige of patience melted away. "My eyes are closed, Starfire, I haven't seen anyone."

"Ah." The redhead nodded, agreeing with something that she didn't really seem to understand at all. "Then they must be doing the hanging out someplace." She turned again to go, and stopped—for the third time. "Perhaps we should do the hanging out. We never have before, and conceivably it could be fun. We might journey to the mall of shopping, or perform braiding maneuvers upon each other's hair, or..." Her voice trailed off.

Raven was about to explode, her eyes flaring red as black energy flames outlined her head, the grimace inside finally showing on the outside.

Starfire blushed, fiddling with her fingers. "Um, perhaps you wish to be alone?" She inched away from the stewing Empath.

In as dry and composed a voice as she could manage, Raven made herself answer. "How could you tell?"

With Starfire no longer a distraction, Raven began to pull on the familiar tendrils in the corners of her mind to bring the calm back to what it once was. Her inner-projection of the void, empty space slowly reformed in her mind's eye and within a few deep breaths, she was back to finding the usual center.

"Azarath Metrion Zinth-"

"MAIL CALL!" Cyborg's cheery yell filled the calm room.

For the second time that morning, her calm was shattered. A quiet yelp left her mouth as she toppled off her mid-air hover and tumbled to the ground in a tangled heap before the missing three titans. Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg, with Cyborg carrying a large wooden crate.

Starfire gave a squeal of delight, zipping over to the newly returned trio. "Robin! Cyborg! Beast Boy! You are back! It was...quiet while you were gone."

Raven stood, dusting herself off with undisguised annoyance. "Not that quiet." Her gaze flickered towards the caret and then she grimaced. There was an odd feeling of unsettlement in her stomach and something about it didn't rest well with her at all.

The very fact that she couldn't put her finger on it irritated her even more. If her mind was clearer, perhaps it might've been easier to identify what the problem was.

Perhaps

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><p><strong>~*~*~*Thanks for reading!~*~*~<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 : Mystery Crate

**A/N: Finally got chapter 2 of this done. Then again, it's dead week starting about now at Uni and I'm up to my eyeballs in final projects and tests. BLECH. I'd much rather be writing fanfics. ^_^ Anyway, this is the extended episode version of when Starfire and Raven get switched. It will have a RobxRae slant and if you've read my extended episode of Nevermore, then you know what's coming up. Also, a shameless plug for my other current RobxRae fic, titled "Library of the Raven" it's an AU fantasy setting, where Raven is a magical librarian and Robin is a lone, wandering knight. It's quite different from my current writing style here, but if you like Fantasy-give it a shot, 'cause Raven kicks butt. Now, onto the fic-Enjoy the read!**

**Disclaimer: It's windy outside. **

**Cyborg: How is that a disclaimer? **

**Me: It's a statement. **

**Cyborg: State the disclaimer. **

**Me: I state the disclaimer**

**Cyborg: Hey...**

**Me: *yawn* That's okay, I'm exhausted. Don't worry about it. ~_^ I don't own any Teen Titans anything. **

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><p>Cyborg set the crate down on the kitchen table and immediately Beast Boy was dancing around it, trying to examine every possible angle and reading the label plastered on the side that read "To: Teen Titans-Titan Tower". It was a pretty impressive looking crate.<p>

The green teen grinned widely. "Dudes, check it out. This was sitting by the front door. Just sitting there, waiting for us to notice it. It's fan mail-probably a gift from one of my many admirers."

Raven stifled the urge to roll her eyes at that. Sometimes she did wonder what exactly was going on in the green boy's head, but experience had taught her one thing—she didn't really want to know. Hanging back just to the outside of the crowd her excited teammates made, she waited to hear what was inside.

The sooner that mystery was solved, the sooner she could return to her meditations.

Robin was poking it cautiously with one hand. "It doesn't say who it's from." He mused, turning it to check again. "Cyborg?"

"There wasn't any note." Cyborg shrugged. "But, there's one way to find out. I don't think there'd be anything weird inside…" He grabbed the nailed cover and pulled it open.

Robin and Starfire's heads took up the top space as they tried to be the first ones to get a look in. There was a moment of silence as they took in the crate's contents and decided on a suitable reaction.

"Whoa." Cyborg murmured appreciatively.

"Pretty Cool." Robin acknowledged. Starfire giggled from her position beside the boy wonder and her feet tucked up behind her as she began to hover in mid-air, from the sheer joy of it all. Beast Boy's brow furrowed together as he stared in, then sighed.

"Honestly, I was kinda hoping for chocolate." He scratched his head.

Raven swallowed the retort on the tip of her tongue, when she thought about it, chocolate probably wasn't that bad of a thing to find inside of the mystery crate.

Cyborg rolled his eye, then reached into the crate and drew out a puppet replica of himself. "Aww, now look at that. Isn't that cute? Puppet Cy has a light-up eye." He pressed something on the tiny wooden head and the puppet's red eye glowed brightly.

Beast Boy perked up at that and immediately rooted through the crate to produce his own puppet, with Robin already examining his own. "They got all the details just right." He tugged on the yellow utility belt. "Nice."

"Speak for yourself. I'm way better looking than this-and taller." Beast Boy waved the puppet replica around in the air, the knobby arms and legs knocking together wildly. "How come I'm the only one that looks weird?"

Raven ignored him as she finally stepped up to the crate and looked in. The nagging feeling at the back of her mind seemed to rush to the forefront as she stared into the wooden box and the remaining puppet. The unease grew deeper as she snatched her puppet replica out of the box and held it up for inspection. "Someone certainly has a lot of time on their hands." She muttered, turning it over, carefully. "Too much time." There wasn't anything that she could sense from it, but then again, she didn't want to read into something that wasn't there.

The kind of thing that would cause trouble. Shaking the thought mentally away for later meditation, Raven continued her inspection of the puppet miniature. She was surprised to find that even the details, such as her hair—had been meticulously reproduced in a fairly accurate fashion.

She swallowed. There was something about it that just didn't sit right. It was actually creepy. Creepy on a whole different level of darkness. Starfire's giggle pulled her away from the troublesome musings and the empath watched as the redhead giggled at the puppet.

"I have never seen such a whimsical device." The alien girl turned it over in her hands, giving it shake and then a wiggle with a flick of her wrist. "Is it not a most wonderful toy, friend Raven?" Starfire grinned, finally figuring out how to thread her fingers through the crosspieces and manipulate the corresponding limbs. The smile on her face grew wider by the second as she began to speak in a deeper voice, emulating the miniature self. "Hello, Starfire!" The greeting was interrupted with a giggle, followed by a reply in her normal voice. "Hello, beautiful tiny wooden replica of Starfire! It is most beauteous to meet you."

Raven mentally stifled the urge to gag. She didn't see anything beauteous about it at all, rather, it seemed as if there was something more unsettling about it the longer she tried to puzzle it through. Turning away from the redhead, her eyes flickered towards the boys who were still experimenting with their own puppets.

Beast Boy made his puppet self hop over behind Robin to begin sparring in typical martial arts style. "Dude!" He smirked. "My puppet is totally kicking your puppet's butt—lookit!" A few twists of the strings had the Beast Boy puppet energetically kicking Puppet Robin's behind.

The masked titan leader merely grinned in reply. "Oh yeah, not for long." With a flick of his wrist, Puppet Robin sent Puppet Beast Boy flying with a well-placed kung-fu strike. "Take that!" He chortled.

"Hey-wait!" Beast Boy protested as Puppet Beast Boy jerked backwards, just far enough to crash into Puppet Cyborg.

The older titan immediately took the opening, manipulating the strings to make Puppet Cyborg come to life. "You want a piece of me, little green man?" He intoned, adopting a similar child-like voice as Starfire had done, lending a hint of personality to the wooden puppet.

"There's nothin' wrong with being green." Beast Boy mumbled, but he was already focusing on how to make his Puppet continue with the whole sparring episode. It was only a matter of seconds before all three of the boys' puppets were engaged in a free-for-all-battle, while their puppeteers provided a steady stream of comic banter overhead.

Starfire was oblivious to the noise as Raven drew her hood up over her head, turning away with an air of disgust that she made no attempt to hide. "Boys." She muttered, darkly. It figured that they would begin fighting in some way or the other within minutes of discovering their newest toys. Her mind flickered back to the almost peace and quiet she'd had within her grasp just moments before. This crate had definitely not been worth the interruption.

Strands of patience seemed to be unraveling at the ends and Raven knew she needed to get moving. It was best not to stay around her teammates in this sort of feeling and she had already moved past the novelty of having a puppet replica of herself. More important matters had taken over the small flow of constant thought within her head.

_Meditation._ She thought, fixedly. _I need to meditate. Peace. Quiet. Azarath…as soon as I am away from here._ The purple-haired empath turned to leave only to be confronted by a smiling Starfire holding up her replica.

"Friend Raven, are you leaving?"

"Meditate." Raven answered, automatically, making an attempt to skirt the alien princess and head towards the hallway door.

"But we are all enjoying the fun of the-"

"Meditation is fun for me."

The redhead's smile faltered and Raven was able to step around her before Starfire intercepted her again, the smile replaced, a little more forced than before. "Please, I only wish to-"

"Not now." Raven forced herself to take a calm, simple breath and reply in calm, simple words.

Starfire dangled her Puppet self in front of Raven's face. "Shall my tiny replica do battle with your tiny replica? It looks to be most entertaining and-"

"Knock yourself out." Raven tossed her puppet self over and this time, it was enough of a distraction for her to escape while Starfire stared after her in confusion.

A troubled frown flickered briefly on the alien girl's face before she turned her attention back to the adorable puppet replicas. "Hello friend Raven!" She intoned. "Why hello friend Starfire!" The Puppet Starfire gave a little twirl, sidling over to Puppet Raven. "It is most glorious to see you, shall we now commence the beginning of a friendly battle?" Puppet Raven nodded gravely. "But of course, my dear friend Starfire because-"

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><p>Standing in the middle of her room, Raven sneezed once, twice and thrice. A minor tick of annoyance registered and she forced the thoughts from her head, settling into the calmness that her bedroom usually offered. Today, it was just dark enough. Maybe she'd be lucky. Maybe Jump City wouldn't try to burn itself to the ground while she straightened out the mess in her head.<p>

The mess in her head that never should've been there in the first place. A soft sigh left her lips and tucking her legs up beneath her, Raven settled into a light hover just above the foot of her bed.

_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…._


	3. Chapter 3 : Nighttime Terror

**A/N: Finally got chapter 3 of this done. School is officially out for the summer. Yayness! Hopefully I can get this wrapped up pretty quickly. ^_^ Thanks for the reviews and faves. In case you can't tell, this is the extended episode version of when Starfire and Raven get switched, courtesy of the Puppet King. It will have a RobxRae slant and if you've read my extended episode of Nevermore, then you know what's coming up. Also, if you like my style of writing and RobinxRaven, check out my other stories-new ficlets for The Robin and The Raven will be out tomorrow, I think. Now, onto the fic-Enjoy the read!**

**Disclaimer: It's CHAPTER THREE! **

**Cyborg: W-what? **

**Me: I finally got Chapter three done. **

**Cyborg: What's that got to do with the disclaimer? **

**Me: Nothing?  
><strong>

**Cyborg: Hey!  
><strong>

**Me: Fine, fine, I don't own any Teen Titans anything-happy? Hey, wait...are you sleeping? **

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><p>By the time she had calmed herself enough to think of sleep, more time had passed than the purple-haired empath had expected. With a muffled groan, she shrugged out of her cloak, tugged off her shoes and began the usual set of stretches and poses to relax her body enough for the physical aspect of sleep.<p>

It was easier to sleep when relaxation took over rather than exhaustion, it was more settling anyhow, because exhaustion always carried the faint stigma that something could go wrong—and she'd be unable to pull herself together in time to offer aid. Rolling her neck, then her shoulders and lastly her feet, in the careful practiced rolls of a dancer loosening their muscles after a good workout.

She crossed the room to take a hairbrush from the dresser and standing before the horned vanity mirror in the corner, she methodically pulled the brush through her short hair, counting until she reached twenty-five strokes. The bedtime routine was calming in its own way and Raven soon allowed the first yawn to slip through her lips.

With a weary glance cast back at her bedroom door, she climbed onto the bed and tugged the sheets up to her chin. The uneasy feeling had only stilled, it hadn't gone away at all. The very fact that it remained was enough for her to stay awake, but she couldn't actually do something about it without dragging herself up and out of bed again.

That thought was enough for her to stay in bed and think of sleep again.

But her eyes stubbornly remained open and the empath was forced to seek a different path of distraction. She turned her face into the pillow, seeking the darkness there and reaching out, mentally, for an alternative distraction that she hadn't touched in some time.

Robin was fast asleep.

She could feel his slumber through the thin, invisible threads she'd knit betwixt them. He was sleeping, lightly, but sleeping nonetheless. That was good. Tugging lightly on the corners of the fabric of her mind, she began to sift through the trickles of his consciousness that filtered through.

It was a habit she'd somehow managed to cultivate in the midst of everything they'd been through lately. Now, she could see fragments of the dream he was currently having. It was like an old movie on a slow replay, just enough for her to understand what was happening and just slow enough that she could dissect the nature, the trigger and whether it was a dream or a nightmare.

It was definitely a dream.

The effort was a little more than she'd expected and Raven felt hints of his drowsiness slowly slipping into her. It was a bit of a welcome nudge, because now, knowing that he was sleeping and dreaming—not nightmaring—she could close her eyes with one less headache on her mind.

And so she did.

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><p>In the midst of the kitchen table, the crate cracked open. Slashes of light sliced down to reveal the crowned figure emerging from the wooden prison, a single wooden hand, clutching at strands of straw. The precise angle of the light only served to add a predatory gleam to the ominous puppet as it clambered from the crate and fell to the tabletop.<p>

The Puppet King smirked, sliding down the table and starting towards the door.

It would be a matter of minutes before he had those pesky Teen Titans right where he wanted them. A delicious shiver ran through his wooden body and he quickened his skipping step.

This would be a fun night indeed.

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><p>Starfire shifted restlessly in her sleep, the tossing and turning doing little to alter her sleeping position, thanks to the fact that her bed was circular and squirming about didn't disorient her at all. Bright pink sheets and blankets tangled adorably with her long arms and legs, her feet on her pillow, her head hanging off the opposite edge of the bed.<p>

On a chair in a corner, her puppet self hung limply.

Her hands clenched, briefly fisting in the coral pink sheets before the troublesome dream seemed to ease into something more pleasant and her body relaxed, her breathing evened by the subconscious decision.

A faint noise hinted to the opening of the bedroom door and a blocky shadow reflected against the bedroom wall. It disappeared, reappearing in another sliver of light in the room as the same, creepy silhouette. It was barely noticeable at all, but it was something.

Starfire jerked upright as the bedroom door slid shut. An undignified squeak crept through her lips and she swallowed hard, moving cautiously to untangle herself from the sheets. "Hello?" Her voice trembled, faintly. "Who is there?"

Sliding out from the bed, she hugged her arms to herself, more for comfort than necessity as she glanced downwards for a pair of bedroom slippers, forgoing them in favor of hovering lightly above the ground. Something was wrong. She'd felt it—for sure.

The feelings of uneasiness burrowed deeper into her mind and the alien princess finally surrendered the inner battle to stick her head outside the bedroom door and into the hallway. It was empty.

Another shiver ran through her.

That wasn't good at all.

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><p>Chaos reigned freely in Beast Boy's bedroom, a computer game flashing an end game screen, illuminating the messy quarters. There were several unmade sheets and armfuls of dirty clothes spilling out from the lower half of the bunk bed set against the wall. The floor was appropriately cluttered to match the rest of the room and the odd light from the computer screen painted an eerie glow on the interior.<p>

A sleeping silhouette was visible on the top bunk, a mumbling voice announcing that the figure was indeed none other than Beast Boy himself, as if the junk and random clutter had not given it away entirely. He was talking in his sleep and half-way draped over the edge of the bed.

"Yeah…iz alright…Ladies...please...yeah…that's…good." Cradling a dirty sock closer to his sleeping face, Beast Boy snuggled deeper into the tangled covers. "One at a time. You'll all get to take your picture with me…I promise…" Soft kissy noises filled the room as he cradled the sock closer.

He almost kissed the dirty sock.

Almost.

On the edge of the top bunk headboard, his puppet hung, limply.

The bedroom door had already opened and closed to admit the Puppet King and the wooden figure now climbed up to the bunk, holding out a white, wooden crosspiece, just like those used to manipulate marionettes. The only difference was the lack of strings and a glowing green spot beginning to flare to life on one of the six wooden arms.

For a brief moment, Beast Boy was enveloped in the same green glow.

He twitched, then shuddered in his sleep, his body growing lax as a ghostly image—identical to the titan—slid out from the physical body and entered the puppet.

The soft sound of his breathing filled the room.

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><p>Starfire's bedroom door slid open and she stepped out, hesitant, cautious, the earlier surge of courage fading way as she crept out into the hallway, forgetting to float to mask her footsteps. Her gaze swept up and down the hallway, a faint shiver running through her body again.<p>

Something definitely wasn't right.

_Robin…I wish you were up…Robin…Beast Boy…Cyborg…even Raven…_

Starfire inched further out into the hallway, wearily casting her gaze up and down the hallway's length again. "Hello? Hello, is there to be anyone there? Hello?"

* * *

><p>The Puppet King's shadow crossed at the far end of the hallway.<p>

The door to Cyborg's bedroom slid open.

He lay on the large, inclined metal slab at the center of his room, fast asleep. One hand held a control to his chest, the other lay at his side, the rest of him unmoving. The room was neat and sterile, with nothing out of place, save for the organized tangle of cords running about the floor.

The Puppet King's hand reached over the lowest point of the table, holding up the white crosspiece. A faint, cerulean blue glow began to flicker to life on one of the white wooden arms and a glow of the same shade enveloped the big titan.

Cyborg jerked awake with a sharp gasp, his eye flickering open, but the warning seemingly too late as his head lolled to the side while a ghostly imitation of himself retracted from his physical body, diving into the puppet version of himself just within reach.

The little red eye lit up.

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><p>"Is there someone there?" Starfire whispered, straightening as she crept out from around the corner, still looking over her shoulder. The sound of feet somewhere jerked her back to the present, but she didn't see anything.<p>

"Hello? This is not funny at all, friends." She said, indignant, the tiny surge of anger giving her some inkling of courage to continue investigating in the shadowy tower. Another wave of unease washed over her. She really didn't like this at all.

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><p>The Puppet King hurried up the steps just out of the sight of the nervous, but curious alien princess. He scowled, angling towards the room on the next floor. It took mere seconds before he stood before the titan leader, Robin, in all his wondrous sleeping glory.<p>

A flicker of red energy glowed on the crosspiece before a ghostly representation of the boy wonder lifted from his physical body and shot into the tiny, puppet replica sitting on the bookshelf between a few thick volumes.

The Puppet King smirked. Three down, two to go. This was turning out to be much easier than he'd expected. Perhaps it was good that the redhead was following him, it meant that he wouldn't have to worry about going back through the halls to get ahold of her.

That was good.

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><p>A creepy chuckle echoed through the darkness, filling the darkened hallway.<p>

Starfire stopped, going unnaturally still as the sound swirled through her ears and through her senses. She did not like that. Oh, no, she did not like that at all. Her hands clenched into fists and she turned to face the direction the sound was coming from. "If this is a joke, it is not very funny and I do not-"

The sound of a nearby door sliding open made her whirl with alien speed to see who it was.

A scream of sheer terror left her lips as she found herself staring face to face at Raven, who was now standing in her bedroom doorway, her blue-purple hair having swirled up into a strangely bird-like shape while the Empath had copied her expressive scream of surprise—albeit a bit more muted.

Almost at once, an awkward silence settled in as both girls took the instant to catch their breath, mainly for Starfire to breathe normally and Raven to settle her trademark glare into place.

The redhead ducked her head lightly in apology, unable to do much more as her mouth began to move of it's own accord. "Raven! You have also heard the strange noises?"

Raven's glare seemed to darken several degrees more. "The strange noises of you talking outside my door? Hard to miss." She rolled her shoulders forward. "It is nighttime, Starfire. People are supposed to be sleeping. You should be sleeping. I should be sleeping." She stifled a moan, on hand reaching up to rub her forehead, massaging carefully around the gem in the center.

Starfire blushed a dusky pink, her expression contrite. "Oh. I am so very sorry. Forgive me, I thought there was someone who-"

* * *

><p>Raven rubbed her forehead, willing the stressful tendrils snaking through her body to calm and return to where they'd come from. She hadn't wanted to leave her restless sleep for something as trivial as Starfire having a bad dream over some strange noise that probably had more to do with a runaway toy from Beast Boy's bedroom or Cyborg forgetting to turn down the volume on something.<p>

The circles she traced on her forehead did little to distract her from the growing unease in her stomach as she realized that the alien princess standing before her was more than startled—in fact, she would almost wager that it bordered on genuine fright, though at the moment, an intense look of guilt seemed to have overtaken the girl's expressive features as she blushed profusely.

The empath swallowed back another retort on the tip of her tongue. She hadn't really been sleeping that much or that well anyway and it wasn't worth it to ream the other girl out when it meant a depressed redhead for the entire day—and accusing looks from the rest of her teammates as to what she'd said to bring the doom and gloom about.

She certainly didn't do it on purpose.

It had been enough of a surprise to find Starfire standing outside of her bedroom that she didn't have the usual comeback ready to burst from her mouth. She'd been expecting something worse—something more sinister, not a half-awake redhead thinking that she was hearing things.

Starfire had probably been sleep walking.

Raven pressed her lips tightly together. She occasionally dabbled in Robin's dreams, once in awhile in Cyborg's and most certainly never in Beast Boy's. Starfire's dreams were a whole different story, Raven chose to avoid them like the plague, the sickening sweetness from within could give her a toothache. Granted, she didn't pry where it wasn't necessary, but it was something she could do for her fellow teammates—something that made her feel useful.

She sighed aloud. Her thoughts were running away with her again. She was far more out of it than she'd thought she was. It was simply too much going on and not enough time to sort it all out. The grumpiness was returning and some corners of logical reasoning in her mind clicked into the appropriate places, allowing her to walk through a mental plan of action.

This would all be best if she could convince the girl to return to her room and attempt to salvage whatever could come from the remaining hours of nightfall. She'd just decided on what she was about to say when a sudden blast of blueness sliced through the air, effectively interrupting Starfire's apology and capturing the attention of both female titans. Cybrog's sonic cannon barely missed the duo as both young women turned towards the source, only to see the three male titans charging down the hallway.

Robin leapt upwards into a spinning drop-kick that Raven knew all-too well. Beast Boy followed suit in the offensive, morphing into a thundering, full-fledge T-Rex, bearing down the hallway with a throaty roar.

_Drat._ Raven thought, dismally. _That can't be good._

Robin's boot nearly clipped Starfire's head as Beast Boy attempted to bite Raven in half. The empath growled, throwing out a handful of black-white energy barriers to slow the young titan down.

There was something off about them. Her mind puzzled, dully. _Think, think, think, hurry!_

Another growl threatened to leave her throat and Raven gritted her teeth, bolstering the barrier. "Beast Boy, it's me! Don't make me hurt you!"

The green changeling's reply was to shatter the shield and snap rudely at her with his giant, prehistoric predator jaws. His glowing red eyes didn't even blink to register that he'd heard the girl speak in the first place.

Starfire streaked to the air, skimming over Robin's head as he produced three discs, flinging them up into the air behind her. The redhead shot two of them down, unprepared when the third one exploded in full force, flinging her downward with the blast. She fell into Cyborg's waiting arms, both of his eyes sharing the same red glow.

T-Rex Beast Boy sent Raven flying with a swing of his dinosaur tail, a tag-team effort where he knocked her down the hallway and Cyborg caught her with his free arm, tucking her into his side as he'd done with Starfire.

Raven squirmed, trying to ignore the throbbing pain that was now racing through her entire body. Yes, she was definitely off in more ways than one, but this entire episode was just bizarre and she didn't even know where to stare with it.

"Let…me…go!" She thrashed about, struggling against a metal grip that she knew all too well.

Starfire struggled briefly, but confusion has painted her face and she pleaded with the titans instead as Robin and Beast Boy approached, the green boy morphing back into his human form. "Friends! Why do you attack us? I wish to know what is-"

From the corner of the hallway shadow, the Puppet King stepped forward, smirking broadly in the faint light. "Oh. They're not your friends anymore…" He laughed, the eerie sound echoing through the hallway.

Starfire gaped at him, openly.

Raven gave one last twist in Cyborg's arm and then let her body go limp. There was precious little she could do with brute strength, meaning that her next best option was somewhere in the maze of her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, ignoring the little figure beginning to gloat before them. She needed a plan and fast.

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><p><strong>~*~*~*~*Thanks for reading!~*~*~*~ Sorry about the "scene jumping" bits, but that was the easiest way to get through this piece and split the POV's between Starfire and Raven. <strong>


	4. Chapter 4 : Switched

**A/N: Ah, apologies! Special thanks to JosephineX for reminding me of this fic. *blush* I had actually forgotten I was working on it. *facepalm* Wonder of wonders. Then again, considering my crazy life, that's actually quite normal. LOL. Will try to keep a better check on that in the future. Anyhow, here's the 4th chappy, it's a tad short, 'cause I didn't want to create a monster chapter for lack of a place to cut it, but there's hints of what I'm going to do with their new situation. Teehee. Poor Raven and Starfire. ^_^ **

**Disclaimer: Apologies!**

**Cyborg: We know. **

**Me: Shut up. I just wanted to say-**

**Cyborg: We know already-**

**Me: I'm trying to-**

**Cyborg: The disclaimer! Just say the disclaimer!**

**Me: Fine, fine. I don't own any Teen Titans anything! *huff* Happy?**

**Cyborg: Indeed.**

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><p>Robin was vaguely aware of something in the back of his mind, tickling around the corners, but not quite coming outright and waking him from his sleep. At first, he tried to corner it, but that only made the strange feeling seem to grow more elusive by the minute until there wasn't anything he could do to get his mental fingers on it.<p>

That only brought about a wave of frustration and exhaustion and he found himself drifting from his semi-conscious state back into the kind of sleep that he needed.

A different kind of warning signal prickled in the back of his mind and he let it settle, long enough for it to register that it was something, something that felt vaguely like Raven.

_That can't be right. Raven can't be in my head, she's always been…but then the nightmares and…I…I don't know anymore._

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><p>The Puppet King stepped up, revealing his weird wooden form for the first time to the shocked heroines. He cackled as he was compelled to do and held up a white crosspiece with several miniatures dangling from the cords.<p>

Familiar miniatures dangling from the cords.

"They are my puppets." He intoned, shaking the helpless wooden figures. "These are your precious little friends!"

Strained, whispery voices struggled to speak from their respective holders.

"Starfire!" Puppet Robin rasped. "Raven!"

"Raven!" Puppet Cyborg ground out. "Starfire-!"

"Help!" Puppet Beast Boy squeaked. "Hurry, we're gonna-!"

Raven stared for a fraction of a minute. That was all that she could allow herself. If she wasn't careful, she wouldn't be able to think straight and coherently enough to plot her way out of this—along with her currently incapable teammates. Her temper flared and she struggled again against Cyborg's metal grip. She could try something. She could try many somethings, but they would not work as long as the redheaded alien princess was so open and vulnerable beside her. Raven sucked in a breath, holding it. It was best for the girl to be behind her in case one of her attacks became too emotionally charged. "Release them!" She demanded. "Or else!"

Cyborg tightened his grip around her waist.

Starfire squeaked. "Robin!" She struggled with her alien strength, trying to force the metal arm open. She cast a glance at the empath who had dared to speak up. It wasn't like Raven to make a threat. Starfire swallowed hard. She noticed that Raven hadn't even looked at the new villain when she'd spoken, instead, her vivid violet eyes were fixed on the puppets dangling helplessly. She chewed her lower lip uncertainly, not wanting to distract from whatever idea the violet-haired girl had in mind.

The Puppet King merely sneered in reply. "Sorry loves, but you're not in charge here." He mocked. "You don't command me and you never will." He held up the white crosspiece, painted eyebrows narrowing to wicked points. The lights on five of the wooden crosspiece arms began to glow in the respective colors of red, orange and blue on the visible points. He smirked. "I command you."

At that, the zombie Beast Boy and Robin both held up the respective Raven and Starfire marionettes.

"Too late!" The Puppet King sing-songed. "Much too late.

A low groan twisted free from Raven's mouth as she writhed in the captive grip. A slender tendril of blue energy began to envelope her body, preparing to leave. The same came from Starfire on the opposite side, the yellow light streaming easily from her body as she moaned at the intrusion.

The Puppet King was still humming and laughing. "With the Puppet King pulling the strings, the Teen Titans will command the entire city." He laughed. "The entire city, my darlings. What do you think of that?"

_I think you're a-_

Raven gritted her teeth. There was no time for snarky comebacks, she needed to act fast—there was no time for thinking anymore. This was gonna hurt. She could feel it. Her body shuddered, fighting against the slimy, unnatural blend of energy pulling at the edges of her very soul. She slowly released the breath and breathed out the familiar words. "Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos." There was a faint prickle at the corner of her mind and Raven felt herself falling deeper into a blackness that was too familiar.

_No! This has to work! It has to…Robin…ugh…_

A sudden spike of energy halted the soul transference as a large black swirling burst of energy erupted from Raven's forehead. It flared up, growing in size and enveloping the entire hall. Zombie Beast Boy and Robin were sent flying—right along with the possessed Cyborg and his captives. The crosspiece from the Puppet King's hand went flying as he screeched in displeasure.

"My control!"

The streams of light blue and bright yellow were suddenly interrupted, the disturbance causing the collected souls to suddenly leap out of their respective positions on the crosspiece—and return to the two, limp bodies on the floor. The blue streaked into one slender figure, while the yellow energy pounced on the other.

Sounds of grunts and scuffling filled the hallway as the Puppet King scrambled for his control—and the two female heroines bolted down the hall. "After them!" He shrieked. "Don't let them get away!"

The controlled bodies of the boy titans slowly lurched upright to their feet, half-hunched over as they began to shuffle forward and after the assigned prey.

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><p>In the titan basement below, Raven ran along the hallway, pausing when she spied the grating in the floor. She was functioning on autopilot and quite frankly, it alarmed her. With the recent emotional upheavals and issues, the very last thing she wanted to be doing was dealing with something as weird as this.<p>

She skidded to a stop, one hand flying out behind her to keep Starfire from plowing into her as she bent and yanked up the grate, slipping easily through and waiting for her fellow titan to do the same. The grate was pulled shut just as the sound of running feet came stomping through the hallway.

Starfire muffled a squeak in one hand as the feet continued one and no one dared to look down the grate. She breathed the faintest sigh of relief as she heard Raven shuffling around in the darkness. "Friend Raven?" She ventured.

There was a muffled string of words and then the click of a lightswitch as Raven found what she was looking for. Empath turned to face alien princess as Starfire wrung her hands.

"We must save the boys! Oh, Raven, what are we going to do-?" Her anxious whisper trailed off as light flooded the tiny room and both girls caught sight of each other.

Raven's jaw dropped and Starfire's green eyes grew abnormally wide.

"Starfire?"

"Raven?" Starfire squeaked, her hands fluttering around the face that should have been hers. "You are me!" Her voice began to rise. "And I am you!"

A spark of black energy leapt from the empath's forehead and the lightbulb fizzled out.

"And we are so screwed." Raven deadpanned.

"R-raven?"

"Not now, Starfire." Raven slowly sank to the floor. "Not now." Her mind was whirling in the oddest of ways and a sudden, new, increasing pressure was beginning to anchor itself in the back of her head. That was not good. There was a faint hint of familiarity around the new presence and something about it felt entirely wrong.

It felt like…Robin.

With that final thought, Raven wondered if the world had indeed, finally, come to an end.

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><p><strong>AN: Teehee. Poor Robin. His consciousness has just been split between these lovely girls. Oh the drama...  
><strong>

**~*~*~*~Thanks for reading!~*~*~*~**


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